Icarus

by Tamar

Chapter Two

Rainbow beat her wings swiftly, propelling herself through the thick fog. The cold mist ran through her mane as she sped along, leaving it wet and tangled.

No matter where she looked, she couldn’t see anything. Rainbow had flown through large clouds before, and thick fog too, but this was new and different. She flew towards Cloudsdale, not knowing what waited for her there.

She cursed under her breath. What were the weather ponies doing? Nopony said anything about this at last week’s weather assembly.

As the weather pony representative for Ponyville, it was Rainbow’s job to attend the weekly
weather assembly in Cloudsdale’s Weather Council. At the assembly, the weather for the week was announced, and ponies gave briefings for their respective areas of responsibility. The weather was meticulously planned so that weather cells could flow around Equestria smoothly, ensuring everypone was given a fair amount of rain and sunshine.

The Councillor had explicitly said it was set to be clear over most of Equestria for the first week of summer, including Ponyville. This fog had to be either a catastrophic error, or… Rainbow didn’t like to think what the alternative could be.

Rainbow shivered and wiped her hooves against her chest, struggling to stop her teeth from chattering. The fog was cold, despite the blazing hot sun she knew was shining far overhead. She changed direction and began to fly upwards, gritting her teeth as she flew higher.

When Rainbow burst into the clear blue sky, the bright sunlight shone in her eyes, rendering her momentarily blind. She placed a hoof over her eyes and waited. When her vision returned, she looked around in wonder.

The fog stretched out below as far as the eye could see; a thick, fluffy white mass. Rainbow’s wings ached from the cold, but she knew better than to try to sit on anything but a proper cloud. Clouds made good building material, and wonderful beds for napping on, but fog was notorious for giving way without warning. So she continued hovering, soaking up the warmth from the hot sun.

Rainbow looked around. The blue sky was completely empty, and an almost eerie silence pressed into her ears. She shivered despite the heat and continued towards Cloudsdale, hoping that it wasn’t far to go.

***

“Applejack!”

Applejack turned to see who had called her name.

“Who is it?” she called into the fog, nervousness creeping into her voice.

A shady form appeared on the path leading up to Sweet Apple Acres. As it came closer, Applejack realised the voice belonged to Twilight.

“Twilight! You gave me a heck of a fright there.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s all right. I shouldn’t be so nervous, but with all this fog an’ darkness everypony’s just so on edge. You can really feel it in the air.”

Twilight nodded. “This isn’t good for Ponyville. Nopony has a clue what’s going on, and some of the younger fillies are inventing the most ridiculous stories about Cloudsdale exploding and Nightmare Moon returning in the form of a massive blanket of dark fog.”

Applejack chuckled weakly. “We’ve hardly come up with any better explanations.”

“Not until we hear back from the Princess. Or Rainbow.”

“You wrote the letter then?”

“I wrote it with Spike as soon as everypony had left, but I haven’t heard back from her yet. We’ll just have to be patient.”

Applejack nodded. “An’ calm. Nopony knows what’s going on, but it’s up to us to keep things under control, especially for the younger fillies. That’s why I’ve been putting up these lanterns.” Applejack gestured to her handiwork; a string of firefly lanterns that marked the path from Sweet Apple Acres to the edge of Ponyville.

“I put these up so that Applebloom and Granny Smith could go between Ponyville and Sweet Apple Acres without me worrying about them getting lost, an’ now I’m thinking it might be a good thing to put them up around town as well. I know I should be bucking apples, but I can’t even see up to tell if there’s any apples in the trees I’m bucking.”

Twilight nodded again. “This is a brilliant idea, Applejack. We all have to do our bit. Can I help?”

“Sure. Just come with me back to the barn; I’ve got loads of these lanterns stored away. I never thought I’d have to use them, not since–”

Applejack was cut off as a scooter with a trailer whizzed past, almost knocking her over.

“Pesky varmints!” Applejack shouted after the offending scooter. “You come back here so I can see who you are! Oh.” Applejack’s tone softened as the scooter stopped in the fog, turned, and sheepishly wheeled towards her. “Scootaloo, Applebloom, Sweetie Belle – you know better than to go charging around like that in this fog!”

“Sorry, sis,” Applebloom said. “Scootaloo thought we might be able to get our fog-explorer cutie marks.”

“Absolutely not!” Applejack said. “It’s too dangerous for young fillies such as yourselves to go off exploring at the moment. You could get lost, an’ we’d never find you.”

“We were trying to be useful!” Sweetie Belle said. “We thought some other ponies might have got lost in the fog, and then we could find them and bring them back.”

“And what if you couldn’t find your own way back?” Twilight asked, one eyebrow raised and with a hint of a smile.

“Um...” Scootaloo thought hard. “I guess we hadn’t considered that.”

“But there is one way you could be helpful,” Twilight said.

“Yes!?” The three fillies jumped to attention.

“Up at Applejack’s barn is a collection of firefly lanterns, like the ones marking out this path,” Twilight said. “It would be really helpful if you went and collected a load of them in your trailer, and put them up around Ponyville, marking out the main paths and walkways. Do you think you can do that?”

“Can we?” The three fillies snapped their hooves up in salute. “Cute Mark Crusader Lantern Pathfinders! Yay!” In a flash they had disappeared up the track on Scootaloo’s scooter, the buzzing of her wings quickly disappearing into the fog.

“Don’t forget to follow the lights!” Applejack called after them.

“I’m rather envious of them,” Twilight said with a touch of sadness as she began to walk along the path in the other direction towards Ponyville.

“Envious?” Applejack said, trotting up to walk beside Twilight.

“They don’t have a care in the world. All this fog means is that they have new adventures to discover.”

“We all wish we were fillies again from time to time, Twilight. The freedom of childhood is bliss.”

“I thought I wasn’t naive when I was a filly,” Twilight said. “I thought because I read all those books that I knew what was going on with the world, and all the other fillies racing about and playing were just being silly. But it’s no use. Princess Celestia’s own pupil, with all the books of Ponyville’s library, and I still can’t work out what’s causing all this fog.”

Applejack rested a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, bringing her to a halt. “It’s not as bad as all that, sugarcube. Nopony knows anything at the moment; it’s not just you. We’ll get through this together.”

Twilight sighed deeply. “I know,” she said. “I know. I’m just so worried...”

“For Rainbow Dash.” Applejack finished her sentence.

Twilight nodded, looking at the floor.

“We’re all worried for her,” Applejack said. Twilight nodded again, still looking down. Applejack continued, “But I’m sure she can handle herself. She’s a tough pony, an’ sure she can be a little reckless, but she’s never gotten herself into something she couldn’t manage before.”

“I’m sure you’re right,” Twilight said. “I don’t know. I just can’t stop thinking about her, where she is, what she might be going through. Even though it’s probably nothing.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow very slightly. “You’re fond of Rainbow Dash, aren’t you, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded sadly.

“Well then, don’t you worry!” Applejack said, continuing along the road. “I’m sure she’s absolutely dandy, an’ you’ve still got the rest of us here with you. Now come on, I think I can see Sugarcube Corner up ahead. A bit of sugar will cheer you up.”

***

Rainbow Dash was now nearing Cloudsdale. Thick fog was billowing from the north corner of the city. So the fog was coming from Cloudsdale.

How could Cloudsdale produce so much fog? Rainbow thought desperately, trying to figure out the problem. In all the times she had been inside Cloudsdale’s weather factory, she’d never seen anything capable of producing such quantities.

Two white pegasus stallions emerged from the Council Building and flew up towards Rainbow. Rainbow watched their approach apprehensively. When they drew up in front of her, the first stallion spoke.

“Miss Rainbow Dash?”

“Um... yes?”

“Come with us right away. The Mayor wants to see you.”

“The Mayor?” Rainbow was astonished. She’d hardly ever seen him, even in the Council chamber assemblies. She didn’t know the Mayor was aware she existed. “The Mayor wants to see me? What for?”

“Mayor Icarus will explain when you arrive, Miss Rainbow Dash,” the stallion said. “Please, come with us. It is quite urgent.”

Rainbow flew down towards the Council building, flanked by the two pegasus stallions, trying to work out what in Equestria the Mayor wanted with her. Politically, she was unimportant; just the weather representative for a small countryside town.

Rainbow landed outside the imposing Council building, and looked up. It was the oldest building in Cloudsdale, the first structure to be constructed when the city was built. The front was adorned with elaborate pillars, leading up to an impressive dome. She had been inside countless times for the routine weather briefing in the Council chamber, but she had never spoken to the Mayor before – and the building had never seemed so menacing before.

Rainbow followed the two stallions inside the main door into the grand hallway filled with classical paintings of mythical figures. She turned to the two stallions who were with her. “So I just...”

“Wait here, Miss Rainbow Dash. The Mayor will be with you shortly.” With that, the two stallions left.

Alone in the vast room, Rainbow shuffled her hooves. In the silence of the empty hall, her own breathing sounded harsh and loud to her. The Mayor’s official seal adorned the intricate decorations on all the walls, contributing to the lavish baroque murals. Councillor Icarus, weather representative from the small northern town of Wingham, had been elected as Mayor of Cloudsdale five seasons ago in the greatest landslide vote in memory, and she had voted for him herself.

Rainbow shrank back from the stares of the mythological creatures in the paintings, but short of fleeing the hall itself, there was no escape. Instead, she focused her attention on the one painting that wasn’t fictional: the official portrait of the Mayor, hanging as the centrepiece of the north wall. He had been painted hovering in front of Cloudsdale with the sun setting behind him, and his easy expression conveyed a fatherly benevolence for his city.

Rainbow was startled by the sound of hoofsteps echoing through the hall. She turned to see the Mayor approaching her from the foot of the staircase to the south tower.

“Mayor Icarus!”

Icarus was an impressive grey stallion with a fiery orange mane and tail, slightly ageing with a few grey hairs. The Mayor’s face creased into a smile as he trotted towards Rainbow. “Please, Miss Rainbow Dash, call me Icarus. And may I call you Rainbow?”

He extended a hoof, which Rainbow shook. “Um... yes.”

“Come. I’m quite sure you are wondering why I’ve sent for you.”

Rainbow trotted to keep up beside Icarus as he strode towards a staircase that led up into the grand tower. “Well, yeah, but I was actually wondering what’s going on with all this fog. What’s it for? Why weren’t we told about it in the Council?”

Icarus held up a hoof, silencing Rainbow’s questions. “Please, Rainbow. All will be explained in good time.”

Rainbow fell silent, feeling chastised, and continued following the Mayor up the steps. The Mayor was legendary for his ability to command silence, not out of fear, but respect. He was well liked by all, but nopony ever wanted to get on the wrong side of him.

They had finally reached the top of the staircase. Rainbow had never been up into the tower before, and gazed about with wonder as she was led into the Mayor’s office. The walls were filled with portraits of pegasus mayors from history staring down at her, and behind a large desk there was a vast bank of windows that looked out over Cloudsdale.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Icarus observed, noticing Rainbow taking in her surroundings. “Best view out of a window in Equestria, and between you and me, I think even better than the royal pony sisters’ view over Canterlot.”

Rainbow shuffled.

“You seem a little on edge, Rainbow. Is something wrong?”

Frustrated, Rainbow said, “Yes, something is wrong! Ponyville is engulfed in fog, and as far as I can tell so is the rest of Equestria, and the fog seems to be coming from Cloudsdale! What’s going on? How in Equestria is the factory even able to make that much fog? Has one of the machines gone wrong? Why did you send for me? Why am I important?”

“I can tell that you’re frustrated, Rainbow, but I can assure you there really is nothing to worry about. All of your questions will be answered in good time.”

Rainbow sat down on her haunches with her ears pressed flatly down.

“Now, Rainbow, please have a drink. We have much to discuss.”

Rainbow eyed the drink suspsiciously.

“Please, Rainbow. It will help you to relax.”

Rainbow did as she was told and took a mug off the tray Icarus offered.

“Is there anyone you’d like to make a toast to?” Icarus said.

Rainbow thought for a moment. “To my friends in Ponyville,” she said finally, raising the mug. “And that I won’t let them down.” The drink had a curiously warm taste to it with a metallic tang, and it fizzed gently on the way down.

“To your friends and your loyalty,” Icarus concurred, drinking from his own mug.

Rainbow put her mug down. “That’s a funny drink,” she said. “What was it?”

“A recipe handed down through my family. In Wingham, it was considered a delicacy. It’s a mixture of cloudwater, springwater and dew, with a hint of rainbow mixed in.”

“I’m drinking… rainbow?”

Icarus chuckled. “The humour is not lost on me, I assure you. Now then, to business.” The Mayor’s voice took on a much more serious tone. “You ask where the fog is coming from, Rainbow. Before I explain, you must know that everypony has been hidden from the truth, Rainbow. The truth has been clouded – like the fog that now sits over Equestria.”

Rainbow rubbed her head, confused. “Truth? What truth?”

“We have all been blind, Rainbow. Things are not as they seem. History as we know it is false. The current state of things is not as it should be.”

“Woah, woah,” Rainbow said, holding up her hooves. “What are you talking about? Things are not as they should be? What do you mean? Everything’s fine!”

“That is what they want you to think, Rainbow.”

Rainbow frowned at the stallion. “Who is they?” she asked suspiciously.

“Understand, Rainbow, that I only want what is best for you, your friends, and Equestria. The truth may not be easy to take.”

“Try me.”

“The Hearthwarming tale is a lie.”

Rainbow shook her head firmly. “No.”

“Yes, it is.”

“It can’t be,” Rainbow said, still shaking her head, her jaw set firm. “The royal pony sisters tell us that the Hearthwarming tale is how Equestria was founded – we have a play about it every year!”

“But do they have any proof, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow sat down again, gaping at the floor. “But… they’re the royal pony sisters! The rulers of all Equestria, and they have been for over a thousand years!”

“And for over a thousand years, they kept all ponies in the dark. They spun their saccharine tale of Hearthwarming and for over a thousand years, almost nopony knew the truth. A very small group of pegasi kept the secret hidden, waiting for the right time to reveal it. And that time is now.”

“And what is the truth?” Rainbow said. “What’s wrong with the Hearthwarming Tale? Why did the royal pony sisters lie to everypony?”

Icarus took a deep breath. “The Hearthwarming tale is true, to a certain extent. It is true in
that all ponies used to live in a far off land that they called Hippotamia. And it is true that the three races of ponies argued amongst each other when the storm came. All the windigoes, and the Old Council, and the decision to find a new land, all that is valid history. But it is from there that things change.

“Each race sent a delegation out to find a new land. But the earth ponies got lost on the way. Chancellor Puddinghead wore a map over her face, and then as a hat, and then lost it all together. They turned up back at the Old Council a week later, half starved and having had no luck in finding the new land. The unicorns didn’t fare much better. Princess Platinum refused to continue further than a few hundred feet from the unicorns’ castle, on the grounds that if she couldn’t arrive in her new land in a clean robe, then she wouldn’t arrive at all.

“Only the pegasi completed the journey. Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy, after a few days of flying through the blizzard, found their way to Equestria, which they called Pegasopolis.”

“Only the pegasi?” Rainbow said incredulously. “None of the others made it? But how are they here now?”

“You haven’t let me finish, Rainbow,” Icarus said. Rainbow sat in silence. “Commander Hurricane and Private Pansy returned to Hippotamia telling tales of a fabulous new land, where the sun shone, the earth was fertile, and the ground was full of diamonds. All this the pegasi discovered, not the other pony races.

“The earth ponies and the unicorns refused to believe them, embarrassed that their own delegations hadn’t succeeded in their task. The pegasi, however, were only too happy to follow them to the new land of Pegasopolis. The whole race migrated, and within a few days a temporary village was built on the ground. While the stronger pegasi went about building a city out of clouds, Commander Hurricane and a team of hoof-picked ponies set about writing the laws of the new Pegasopolis, and defining its boundaries.

“Meanwhile, back in Hippotamia, things went from bad to worse, and when the earth ponies and unicorns realised the pegasi weren’t coming back, the unicorns sent out an urgent plea for help with their magic. The message reached the pegasi in the newly built Pegasopolis City, and after a long debate in the Council, it was agreed that the earth ponies and unicorns could come and live below the pegasi, as long as they submit to pegasus rule. This the earth ponies and unicorns agreed to, since they had no choice, and a team of pegasi were sent to lead them to their freedom.

“So you see, Rainbow, the pegasi are meant to rule. It is our rightful place. We founded Equestria, and we led the earth ponies and unicorns to safety. Don’t you see? If it wasn’t for the pegasi they would have starved to death in Hippotamia!”

Rainbow sat with her mouth open, speechless. “I... I can’t believe it,” she said.

“Think, Rainbow! The pegasi are clearly born to lead. We dominate the sky, and we have more strength and courage than the other races put together. Equestria could never be ruled by the dim-witted earth ponies, or the self-obsessed unicorns.”

Rainbow rubbed her head again, struggling to understand what Icarus meant. “But it isn’t ruled by earth ponies or unicorns. It’s ruled by the royal pony sisters. Why isn’t it ruled by the pegasi, then? And why isn’t it called Pegasopolis any more?”

Icarus sighed. “Alas, this is where things take a turn for the worse. The royal pony sisters arrived from a faraway land, which some pegasus historians believe was called Nova Faustia. Wherever they came from is irrelevant, what matters is that they didn’t belong here. They came to rule. They might seem like benevolent rulers, but domination was the only thing they had in mind.”

“But we love the princesses! Celestia and Luna are good to us!” Rainbow said weakly.

“They lied, Rainbow! Can’t you see it! In order to rule over Equestria, they had to make the pegasi submit. The pegasi were doing a very fine job of ruling Pegasopolis. They were fair to the unicorns and earth ponies below, demanding only what was needed in food and tribute from them. But the royal pony sisters wanted to dominate all three races, so they deposed the ruler of Pegasopolis, who was by then Commander Hurricane’s grandson, General Thunder. They renamed Pegasopolis Equestria, and the cloud city changed its name to Cloudsdale.

“Over a thousand years, they spun their alternative founding story, which became the Hearthwarming tale we love so much today. The earth ponies and unicorns rejoiced, and the pegasi grudgingly submitted their power to the sisters, until all had forgotten. All, except for a few select pegasi in an irrelevant little cloud village called Wingham. They kept the secret alive, passing it down the generations until the time was deemed right.”

Rainbow’s ears drooped as she rubbed her eyes, then shook her head to clear her mind. Inexplicable tiredness was oozing through her head like hot fudge. Right now, more than anything else, she wished she could go home to Ponyville and her friends, and then everything would be all right. When she looked up at Icarus again, he was looking out of the window.

“So... why... why are you pumping out all this fog?” she asked with effort, not wanting to hear the answer.

Icarus turned to her, and his eyes bored fiercely into her skull. “Because now is our time,” he said with malice. “Now it is time for the pegasi to take back what is rightfully ours! Now it is time to overthrow the alicorn usurpers, and return power to the pegasi, the true rulers of Pegasopolis! We will crush the bumbling earth ponies and the self-loving unicorns, leaving only the noble pegasi!”

“But what if the other pegasi don’t want this?” Rainbow said, stifling a yawn. Despite her confusion and shock, she felt oddly tired. “How can you do all this by yourself?”

“You forget, Rainbow,” Icarus said, laying a hoof on his chest with pride, “I was elected by the biggest landslide in memory. The political power I hold in my hooves is unprecedented. That is why the time is now. The pegasi will do as I tell them.”

Rainbow got to her hooves shakily, pointing an accusing hoof at Icarus. “The royal pony sisters will never let you take over Equestria. I don’t know if what you say is true, but Celestia and Luna are fair rulers, and they won’t let you take power over the earth ponies and the unicorns.”

“The royal pony sisters won’t be a problem,” Icarus replied, pushing her hoof down. “That is what the fog is for. Celestia’s powers are drawn from the magic of the sun, and having raised the sun and been barred from its power by the fog, she will have collapsed. It’ll be taking all of Luna’s powers just to keep her awake.”

Rainbow’s eyes went wide with shock. Panting, she tried to lunge at Icarus, but found herself too weak, instead falling in a heap on the floor. “But what do I have to do with this?” Rainbow cried. “Why do you want me involved?”

“Because you have access to something I need, Rainbow Dash. With the royal pony sisters gone, and the unicorns subdued, the pegasi will need a source of magic. And that is where you come in. I need you to bring me the Elements of Harmony.”

On the floor, Rainbow’s breathing grew heavier and heavier. “I... won’t...” she gasped, waves of tiredness washing over her. “I’ll... never betray... my friends...” Finally she surrendered and closed her eyes, succumbing to deep sleep.

Icarus clapped his hooves together. A pegasus stallion appeared in the doorway. “You called, Mayor?”

“Yes, Pan. Take Miss Rainbow Dash to her sleeping quarters. She’ll need her sleep for tomorrow.”

“Very good, Mayor. So she drank the potion?”

Icarus picked up Rainbow’s empty mug. “Every last drop.”

Pan lifted Rainbow and slung her over his back. “If you don’t mind my asking, Mayor...”

“Go on.”

“What does the potion do?”

“The drink itself is actually quite simple,” Icarus said. “It’s an old herbal remedy from Wingham that helps you sleep. But in doing so, it lowers the mind’s defences, making it more susceptible to suggestion. I also took the liberty of having our unicorn in captivity enchant it with a partial amnesia spell. It won’t obliterate her memories, but it will confuse them. The combined result will be that our friend Rainbow will forget about her friends, and will be willing to do whatever I tell her.”

“It sounds very clever, Mayor.” Pan turned to leave.

“Oh, one more thing,” Icarus called after the stallion.

“Yes, Mayor?”

“From now on, call me General.”

“Yes, General.”

---

Comments

[MellowMabari]

Oooh! The plot thickens! This is really good so far, keep it up!

[StageQuill]

No! Oh no! Ok, this story is kust too amazing and suspense omigosh

[Koala2001]

General? Can I assume he's the descendant of General Thunder?

[MidnightInkpaw]

Cute Mark Crusader Lantern Pathfinders

Cute? Oh fine, thay are cute but what is Cute Mark Crusader?